Debt, Networks and Reciprocity: Undocumented Migration from Fujian to Japan

Gracia Liu-Farrer

Debt, Networks and Reciprocity: Fuzhou City and its surrounding cities and Undocumented Migration fromcounties are reputed to have sent out large 1 numbers of international migrants. The map is Fujian to Japan a modified version of itsoriginal map in Chinese. For more detailed information on the Gracia Liu-Farrer location of Fujian, please refer to Google Map.

Abstract Taiwan fears Pingtan,

Fujian, the coastal province in Southeast China, Americafears Tingjiang, is where a large number of overseas Chinese called home. After widely publicized tragic Japan fears Fuqing, events such as the Golden Venture and Dover incidents, the name Fujian has in recent Britainfears Changle, decades become associated with clandestine 2 border entry. This article examines the causes and the whole world fears Fujian. and contexts of undocumented migration from Contemporary Undocumented Migration Fujian to Japan. It highlights the unique from Fujian to Japan characteristics of undocumented migration into Japan: debt-driven migration and network- Fujian, the coastal province in Southeast China, induced visa overstaying. It also explores the is where a large number of overseas Chinese tradition- and reciprocity-oriented ethical call home. After widely publicized tragic events frameworks within which Fujian undocumented such as Golden Venture and Dover incidents, in migrants justify their behavior. which dozens of Chinese immigrants died, the name Fujian has in recent decades been associated with clandestine border entry. As the popular saying above indicates, Japan is also considered a prominent destination for Fujian undocumented migrants, especially from the area around the town of Fuqing.

In 2009, over six hundred thousand Chinese nationals lived in Japan, making up nearly 30 percent of all foreign residents in this country. While being the largest legal foreign population, the Chinese are also possibly the largest undocumented migrant group. The official data lists the Chinese visa overstayers in 2009 to be 18,365, behind the 24,198

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Koreans.3 However, the number does not tell us all were from Fujian.4 Since the mid-1990s, the how many Chinese entered Japan clandestinely number of apprehended clandestine entrants through human trafficking. Ministry of Justice from China has exceeded one thousand every (2009) data show that among people who were year. A fifth of Fujian immigrants sampled in refused border entry in 2008, a third of them my survey entered without legal status, while were from China. no other region reported clandestine entrants (Liu-Farrer 2008). Fujian migrants are likely to be the single largest group of undocumented ChineseHowever, Japan is no easy country for migrants in Japan. First, among visaundocumented migrants. Although the overstayers, a large number of ChineseJapanese government has been more immigrants who became undocumented were welcoming toward skilled workers in recent from areas around the capital city of Fujian years, its response to undocumented Province, Fuzhou. There is no official statistics immigrants has always been one of strict that show the regional breakdowns of Chinese prevention. Japan does not have a precedent of visa overstayers. However, two observations amnesty. Moreover, due to the common point to Fujian as the major sending region for association of illegal stay with criminal overstayers. One observation is that 40.2 activities, especially after human smuggling percent of the Chinese who becamebecame rampant since the early 1990s, its undocumented in Japan came as students, police have been particularly adamant in including both university-bound (ryuugakusei) clearing the streets of undocumented and pre-university language studentsimmigrants. In December 2003, in order to (shuugakusei) (Ministry of Justice 2004). In make Japan into “a strong society against fact, over 80 percent of total student visa crimes,” the Japanese government, targeting overstayers were from China. And statistics “illegal immigrants as the hotbed of foreigner’s from the survey show that the rate of Fujian criminal activities,” launched a campaign to students who became undocumented was much reduce the number of illegal foreign residents higher than students from other regions in by half in five years. Since then, under the China (Liu-Farrer 2008). The other observation slogan of “internationalize by abiding rules is qualitative. In my fieldwork at both Chinese (ruru wo mamotte kokusaika),” a designated immigrant social dance halls and immigrant month has been set aside for and “anti-unlawful religious congregations I encountered many employment campaign”. The police regularly women from Fujian who were in Japan on a raid locations where illegal immigrants are spouse visa, but the marriage was in fact just a likely to concentrate, such as entertainment piece of paper. Many of these women had districts, construction sites, and some already overstayed their visas when I met residential areas. Plainclothes roam train them. stations and neighborhoods trying to identify suspects by appearance. Five years later, by In addition to visa overstayers, the Fuzhou area the end of 2008, the number of unlawful also produced a large number of clandestine stayers (fuhou zanryusha) was reduced by 48.5 immigrants. It was estimated that as many as percent from 220 thousands to 113 thousands.5 50,000 Chinese were smuggled into the US Among deported foreigners, Chinese every year (Chin 1999). Although it was not consistently ranked number one. likely to count the number of clandestine entrants into Japan, since 1990, 80 percent of Becoming undocumented therefore put illegal entrants into Japan apprehended by immigrants into a precarious situation in Japan. Japan’s Coast Guard were Chinese, and almost The fear of deportation not only prevented

2 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF illegal immigrants from seeking protection leisure and religious institutions in Tokyo from Japanese labor regulations, it also forced Metropolitan area since early 2002. The them to organize their daily life to minimize the statistical data in this paper came from a danger of encountering the police. Many sample survey of 218 Chinese immigrants, undocumented immigrants do not ride a which I designed and administered between bicycle, and scarcely go to see a doctor. Some May and December 2003, and statistical Fujian informants became tense when they reports published by the Immigration Office of walked in areas where they believed the Japan Ministry of Justice and Japan plainclothes patrolled. There was a fatalistic Immigration Association on foreign residents sentiment among the undocumentedand visa overstayers. immigrants. One interviewee ended our conversation saying, “Today I am here talking Causes of Undocumented Migration from to you. Tomorrow I don’t know where I will Fujian to Japan be.” Moreover, undocumented immigrants Researchers in US, Europe and China have heavily relied on their personal networks for documented the motives and methods of resources and services and therefore were migrants leaving Fujian Province, especially the vulnerable to exploitations by co-ethnics. several towns and villages around the capital Within ethnic networks, services such as city Fuzhou (Chin 1999, Kwang 1997, Pieke et introduction to a job usually came with a price. al. 2004, Liang 2001, Liang et al. 2008, Liu- Having a baby in Japan could easily cost an Farrer 2008). Economic motivations, undocumented couple over a million yen after psychological reasons and network effects are paying the hospital bills, the borrowed all suggested as causes for undocumented insurance card, and the fee for sending the 6 migration out of this region. These mechanisms baby back to China. In addition, are saliently present in the undocumented undocumented immigrants were likely to be migration from Fujian to Japan. However, in targets of criminal activities. The victims of the phenomenon of undocumented migration in crimes committed by Chinese were often other Japan, unique patterns of economic causes and Chinese. Undocumented immigrants were too network effects are observed: these are debt- afraid to report threats and damages. driven illicit border entry and network-induced student visa overstaying. In this section, I Given the harsh situations an undocumented elaborate on the causes for migration from immigrant faces, why have so many Fujian Fujian to Japan, introducing both the people come to Japan clandestinely ormechanisms that are considered common to all relinquished their legal status in Japan? This clandestine migration out of this region and article explores the causes of undocumented phenomena that are particular to migration migration from Fujian to Japan, presents the into Japan. ethical frameworks within which Fujian undocumented migrants operate, and discusses Economic motivation: capital and debts different concepts of rights involved in the act of irregular migration. Economically, there is not sufficient arable land in Fujian for each productive person. Costal This study is based primarily on 47 in-depth people used to fish, but in recent years diesel interviews with immigrants from Fujianfuel became increasingly expensive making Province between May 2004 and February fishing unprofitable. In some areas, the coastal 2005 in Kanto area, Japan and Fujian, China. I area was leased for commercial fish farming also use in this paper field notes fromafter economic reforms, and local people no participant observation in various Chinese longer have access to it. Entrepreneurship and

3 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF out migration have been two traditionalwith debts amounting to more than 500,000 economic practices in this region. Lacking RMB (7 million yen). He operated a pearl farm alternative sources for business loans, Fujian in the early and mid 1990s. In 1995, the area people obtained initial capital by pooling family experienced the biggest hurricane in over a resources, borrowing high interest loans, and century. In just seconds, he lost everything. “A joining rotating credit associations.wave swept everything away. I owed people International migration provided an alternative 200,000 RMB (2.8 million yen).” Without means for accumulating capital, and becomes a insurance against disaster, he could not household strategy, typical of many rural possibly stay home and repay the debt. He migrant-sending regions (Massey et. al 1993, fled. Borrowing an additional 200,000, he came 1994). Many Fujian immigrants reported to Japan by boat in 1996.The journey was not shouldering the responsibility for bringing an easy one. In Zhejiang province, their boat money to invest in family businesses as well as was detained. And each of them paid the police the household’s general well being. Ajin had an a penalty of 30,000 RMB (400,000 yen). He elder brother who was running a factory. He waited for several months, not wanting to go provided the capital they needed, and had a home, fearful of attempts to collect his debts. share in their business investments. “It is Months later he was put on a boat again but called division of labor,” he said. Since these had to abort the plan several times in two immigrants’ remittances were frequently lost in months. When the voyage eventually happened, unsuccessful business investments orit took ten days at sea to reach Japan. entrepreneurial efforts (due largely to lack of business experience), they were forced to Psychological reasons: relative deprivation and remain in Japan to accumulate more cash. personal worth There were also informants who came to Japan for the second or even third time because the Economic reasons aside, Liang and Ye (1999) money they previously made in Japan was lost point out that relative deprivation was a factor in failed business attempts. prompting international migration out of the Fuzhou area. In Fuqing City and Changle However, one additional reason forCounty, tall new buildings built by migrant undocumented Fujian migrants coming to families stand like monuments displaying the Japan was debts. Debt drove clandestine wealth of households. Asked about their plans, migration in many instances. Interviewees many immigrants mention building a new specifically pointed out that Japan was not an house. One interviewee told me that he had ideal destination for international migration worked seven days a week and 16 hours a day because it was not an immigrant country and for the past three years in a lunchbox (bento) provided neither amnesty nor opportunities to company before the boss had to let him go legalize status. The US, Canada, and Australia because the police was coming to inspect his were more attractive places for long term employees’ documents. Not only did he pay off settlement. However, they came to Japan the fees for the clandestine boat trip within a because of debts from failed entrepreneurial year, he had already built a new house in his activities. Japan was nearby and was believed home village. Given a little more time, he would to have many temporary jobs. Older male have had enough money to furnish the place. migrants were especially likely to come to Immigrants from the Fuzhou area, whatever Japan because of debt. their status in foreign countries, were called overseas Chinese (huaqiao) by their fellow Nian’s case is typical. A 46-year-old immigrant villagers. They were expected to demonstrate from Changle County, Nian landed in Japan their success by throwing banquets upon

4 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF returning, giving expensive gifts to relatives Farrer 2008). According to network theory, and friends, and contributing at least twice as each act of migration creates the social much as non-overseas Chinese to thestructure necessary to sustain additional construction and renovation of ancestral movement. Migrants are linked to non-migrants shrines and other local public projects. These through social ties that carry reciprocal practices of conspicuous consumption not only obligations for assistance based on shared placed an extra burden on migrants, but also understandings of kinship, friendship, and produced more aspiring international migrants. common community origin(Massey et al. 1993). Fujian Province, with its long coast line and Some young people also consider going abroad geographic location, has a long history of to work as a way to prove their personal worth. emigration to Southeast Asian countries, North 30-year-old Li had just returned to China to America, South America and Japan. Since the marry his girlfriend of ten years. Five years 15th Century, Fujian merchants had been ago, over her family’s objection, Li came to active in the Kyushu area. Even during the Japan in order to make money to establish his 16th, 17th and 18th centuries when both Japan own family. In China, he had not gone to high and China closed their borders, smuggling school, but went into business. By 25, however, continued between Fujian and Japan’s coastal his losses amounted to several tens ofareas. Until the 1980s, thousands of Fujian thousands RMB. All the money was borrowed Chinese lived in Nagasaki and Yokohama’s from his mother. Chinatown. Most were labors and craftsmen such as tailors and barbers. A minority were In fact, my family did not need my merchants (Vasishth 1997). In 1969, Fujian money. I have a brother in the US immigrants numbered 6193, and were the making money. He has largest mainland Chinese immigrant group in naturalized. But I wanted to have Japan (Tajima 2003). my own career, and make my own Aside from Fujian Chinese, there were also money. I had tried opening retail many Taiwanese in Japan who had Fujian stores, and I also worked as a sub- origins and connections. Taiwanese, then contractor (gong tou). But I did Japan’s colonial subjects for half a century, not make any money. I felt like a migrated to settle in Japan before the end of loser. I was in a relationship with World War II. Until the 1980s Taiwanese somebody, and I wanted to give my accounted for over half of all Chinese partner a comfortable life. …… My immigrants in Japan. The old Fujian and Taiwan brothers gave me advice on how to overseas connections were important in do business, this and that. I was channeling Fujian immigrants into Japan. born in the year of tiger. I did not According to several informants, overseas like to be commanded by others. I Taiwanese set up language schools in Japan wanted to be independent. So I decided to come out [to Japan]. and went to their hometowns to recruit students. Fujian students often found themselves in classes where the majority of Kinship networks: resources and constraints students were from Fujian.

Besides economic and psychological reasons, The old overseas Chinese community in Japan network closure is an important mechanism formed the base for transnational migration that not only produces but also perpetuates networks. What sustained and accelerated undocumented migration out of Fujian (Liu- clandestine migration from Fujian to Japan,

5 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF however, was Fujian immigrants’ kinship based migration, but were also important resources in migration networks characterized by a high immigrants’ adaptation process in Japan. The degree of closure. Fujian immigrants were resources available through self-enclosed social mostly from areas around the capital city networks, such as housing and job information, Fuzhou (Liang and Ye 2001, Liang andeased Fujian immigrants’ transition into a life Morooka 2004). With slight variations in in a new environment, and provided practical accent, people from this region shared a services that immigrants, particularly common dialect that was almostundocumented immigrants, depended on. incomprehensible to other Chinese. With these However, as I have pointed out elsewhere (Liu- characteristics, Fujian immigrant networks Farrer 2008), while useful for undocumented appeared to be closed to outsiders. migrants to obtain resources, Fujian immigrants’ network closure also caused a high Through these closed kinship networks, human percentage of student visa overstaying among smuggling became rampant in this region. Fujian students. The networks became International human smuggling out of Fujian is constraints that hindered obtaining alternative operated through an elaborate system involving resources and blocked upward mobility. First, underground societies and corrupt officials embedded in social networks within which the from different countries. Still, not only do the majority of people were undocumented, losing people in the smuggling ring often belong to a legal status was considered normal and even family or extended family or are good friends, expected. Upon being asked how he made the but local recruitment is invariably donedecision not to go to the language school in through kinship and friendship networks (Liang Okinawa but came to Tokyo to work directly, a and Ye 2001; Chin 1999). I once asked an young man from Fuzhou said: “It is the informant whether Fujian people were afraid of influence of the environment. People from our “snakeheads” -- a term that equals criminals in region are all like this.” mass media and for non-Fujian people. He was surprised. “Why? They are often relatives and Second, the resources that facilitated people living in the same villages. Otherwise, clandestine migration and provided livelihood why had so many young women been willing to for undocumented migrants in Japan were not come abroad? Those women probably had helpful for keeping legal migrants, especially never even left the village.” Later I realized Fujian students in school. On the contrary, such that “snakehead” was just a name for people social networks imposed on them both an extra whose business was sending immigrants financial burden and a social cost. From rural abroad, legally or illegally. Some people called areas with few information channels about the them “brokers (zhongjie).” In my fieldwork, I regular procedures, Fujian immigrants mostly often heard remarks such as “my uncle was a relied on “middle agencies” or “snakeheads” to snakehead,” “a relative of mine was a friend of process their visa applications. As a a snakehead,” or “I used to hang out with consequence, immigrants from Fujian paid a snakeheads.” One woman interviewee said, hefty fee for each successful visa application. “Being a snakehead was a hard job. They are And the more isolated the village was the more in the same boat as you are. They are risking fees were demanded. One man from Fuzhou their lives together with you.” Most Fujian paid 1.2 million Japanese yen for his student students also obtained their visas to Japan visa including tuition. In comparison, a person through a snakehead. from Changle who was the first person in his village to come to Japan paid 3 million yen In fact, Fujian immigrants’ kin and friendship within which 500 thousand yen was the networks not only facilitate transnational middleman’s fee and another 500 thousand yen

6 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF was deposit. His visa was obtained through his deprivation also plays an important part in cousin who lived in the county seat and had a causing emigration. Moreover, the strong friend who was a snakehead. Prices commonly kinship-based social networks in Fujian not ranged from RMB 100,000 yuan (1.4 million only facilitate migration but also sanction yen) to 200,000 yuan (2.8million yen) from the clandestine migration. In the following section, mid-1990s to the early 2000s.7 I explore Fujian undocumented migrants’ moral and ethical frameworks. Accompanying payment for the visa, there were also extra costs was associated with pooling The Ethical Frameworks of Undocumented money. Only a few families already had Fujian Migrants members working abroad and therefore could afford the initial costs. Most immigrant In the summer of 2003, I spent several weeks families borrowed at high interest (usually 1 in Fuqing City and Changle County, visiting percent every month) or obtained loansrepatriated informants and hoping to learn through rotating credit associations. Many more about the communities. I was impressed Fujian students had to quit school and become by how normal clandestine migration was a visa-overstayers because of the financial part of economic and social life. Upon knowing burden. that I would return to Japan, a Fuqing or Changle person would typically comment, “Oh, you have papers. My brother is there, but he has no papers.” Fujian Chinese immigrants are aware that human smuggling is a crime. However, it was not something people considered shameful to talk about. Having papers or not signals the degree of freedom instead of criminality. Even documented Fujian immigrants in Japan, while complaining about their reputations being tarnished by the clandestine migrants, show sympathy for their behavior. The justifications for undocumented migration out of Fujian typically fall into two categories—tradition and reciprocity.

Out-migration as a Tradition

Fujian undocumented migrants on the deck of a In Fujian, the history of migration predates the emergence of nation-states. One informant fishing boat. offers the following explanation for the Source rampant undocumented migration out of that region.

… … if you wanted to know why there are so many people In summary, Fujian migration is frequently smuggled out of Fujian, you have driven by economic motivation, especially the to know the history of Fujian out- desire to accumulate capital and the pressure migration. Fujian had the most to pay off debts. The sense of relative overseas Chinese. Along the coast,

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there was no good soil. Nothing principles in the Fujian Chinese community. grew there but yams. People were They take pride in being hard working and dirt poor. And many very poor willing to eat bitterness, and feel their people from Fujian, such as Lin undocumented existence totally justified by Shaoliang, became rich overseas. their labor contribution to Japan. They Even now, it is still poor in many frequently talk about how no Japanese young places there. Some islands don’t people are unwilling to do the jobs they are even have electric power. These doing, to the degree that employers tried to rich overseas Chinese came back protect them from being deported. At least in in the 1980s, investing in local their immediate environment, their existence is industry and building things. The considered legitimate and necessary. They local people saw that, and believed resent the fact that they have become the that if they could go out they would object of apprehension. The most common a make fortune abroad. So going narrative is “I am just working to earn a living abroad is deeply rooted in Fujian here. I am not committing any crime.”One people’s mentality. informant specifically interpreted the Japanese government’s crackdown on illegal foreign residents as a result of violent crimes The Fujian people I encountered loved to talk committed by some Chinese migrants. He about the rags-to-riches story of the richest stated, ethnic Chinese business person in the world, Lin Shaoliang, who left China for Indonesia in 1938, clandestinely. Fuqing city celebrates Many Fujian people like me work prominent overseas Chinese (huaqiao) like Lin, for Japanese restaurants, working and plans to build a museum to document the very hard, working very properly migration history of this region. For the people in order to gain trust. There are living there, emigration is not only legitimate, bad people coming to Japan, but also glorious if you succeed. joining the gangs……There are good and bad people, but the Fuqing City, one of the main sending regions of problem is that Japanese people migrants to Japan, boasts a population of 1.2 swat all the Chinese with the same million, and 800,000 of them live overseas. stick (yi bang da si). A friend of Most local people have grandfathers or grand mine who was working in Ginza, uncles living abroad. Out-migration in this not doing anything bad, was region has a much longer history than the caught and sent back. He was just immigration control acts in all countries working conscientiously, but got receiving Fujian immigrants. sent back. It is like what the Guomindang used to say, “(I) Exchange and reciprocity as a moral principle would rather kill one innocent than let a guilty one escape (ningyuan Aside from seeing migration, clandestine or cuosha yige, buyuan fangguo not, as a traditional and historical means for yige).” achieving prosperity, Fujian undocumented migrants in Japan generally feel it is a fair exchange between them and JapaneseThrough reciprocity, Fujian migrants society—they are selling their hard labor to established trust and emotional bonds with make a better living. Fair exchange and employers and their family members. Shohei, reciprocity seem to be the leading ethical who worked for a small Tsukiji company, lived

8 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF next door to his boss, was given their family Conclusion name, and was practically a member of the family. Yuki, who worked for a bakery owned Undocumented migration from Fujian has been by an old couple, was given gifts and “otoshi considered both a puzzle and a threat to the dama” and taken on trips to Hokkaido. Every rest of the world. When the tragedies in Dover week, she also helped the Okasan bathe the and the Caribbean happened, and when grandmother. Reports on employment of organized crimes are attributed to gangs from undocumented migrants tend to focus on the Fujian, people and governments respond: “Why labor shortage and exploitation. However, do they want to risk it all? How can we given the social stigma attached to Fujian eliminate this?" migrants, labor shortage and exploitation are necessary but not sufficient reasons to gain Using the case of undocumented migration access to employment. Employers who have from Fujian to Japan, this essay does not try to hired Fujian migrants are likely to hire more. argue whether their practices are right or Not only do the Fujian networks channel more wrong. It merely provides some insights into fellow Fujian migrants into these jobs, but the the causes for their migration and the ethnical phenomenon also creates bonds of trust. frameworks for their practices. Unfortunately, their ethics clash with the legal institution in Fujian migrants’ sense of exchange andthe host society, which operates on a different reciprocity also shapes their attitudes toward set of principles. Questions remain. Do they many illicit activities in the underground world. have the right to pursue a historical means of Outside Fujian migrant society, the public talks survival? Although their presence is about snakeheads or underground banks with unauthorized, they are making fair exchanges horror. Snakeheads are consistently portrayed with the host society and more often than not, as exploiters, bullies and violent criminals. reciprocate the benefits and gifts they receive. What surprised me most when I was in the Some are involved in criminal activities. Fujian migrant community was how naturally However, some of the crimes are by-products of people talked about them. As mentioned the legal system itself, committed to make before, the snakeheads the migrants have migration possible. Others, as in delinquencies actual contacts with are often their kin. They by native citizens, are a manifestation of social are not necessarily loved. But Fujian people marginalization. believe they offer an important service. This said, since I started fieldwork in 2002, I Most Fujian undocumented migrants also rely also sensed a change of norms in the Fujian on underground banks to remit money. For immigrant community. This change was undocumented migrants, the “underground brought by the increasingly stringent bank” was what the Japanese government immigration control by the Japanese called it. It was simply a bank for the Fujian government and the growing economic people. When asked about his opinion of resources in immigrant sending areas. The underground banks, Atong commented that Japanese government in recent years has people who were running the bank were brave stepped up deportation efforts, and increased and were doing the Fujian people a service, inspection of illegal employment. This has because the Japanese government has tried to made the life of undocumented immigrants in crack down on these illicit institutions. If the Japan much harder. Being undocumented was money was lost, he said, the bank operators therefore increasingly considered an would have to compensate the remitters for the undesirable choice. Some interviewees coming loss. in the mid-1990s turned undocumented without

9 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF any regret, but those who lost status in the Gracia Liu-Farrer is Associate Professor of early 2000s wished they had had a second Sociology at the Graduate School of Asia Pacific chance. While the majority of Fujian students Studies, Waseda University. She can be who went to language school in the mid-1990s reached at [email protected]. She is the left school, one informant estimated that at author of“Educationally Channeled least half of his classmates of 1998 class International Labor Migration: Post-1978 remained legal. Many younger FujianStudent Mobility from China to Japan,” immigrants were children of former migrants, International Migration Review, 43 (1),2009.1. therefore they had more financial resources 178-204, “Creating a Transnational than the earlier generation of immigrants. Community: the Chinese Newcomers in Japan,” in Japan’s Minorities: The Illusion of However, several structural conditions of Homogeneity, (ed. Michael Weiner), and a Japanese society as well as Fujian immigrants’ forthcoming book titled Labor Migration from network characteristics might still contribute to China to Japan. visa overstaying. There remains a market niche for undocumented immigrants such as in Gracia Liu-Farrer wrote this article for The construction and in restaurants. Secondly, Asia-Pacific Journal. although Japanese schools were recruiting more and more Chinese students, the Ministry Recommended citation: Gracia Liu-Farrer, of Justice had tightened inspection on schools "Debt, Networks and Reciprocity: and student visas. I started hearing about Undocumented Migration from Fujian to Fujian students who, although in school, were Japan," The Asia-Pacific Journal, 26-1-10, June unable to renew their student visas. Given the 28, 2010. tendency for Fujian students to choose obscure and expensive private schools with high References acceptance rates (in some cases 100 percent) Chin, Ko-Lin. 1999.Smuggled Chinese: but lesser quality, some of them were bound to Clandestine Immigration to the United States. become undocumented in the new round of Temple University Press, Philadelphia. immigration control. Thirdly, the higher deportation rate resulting from recent----. 2001. “The Social Organization of Chinese campaigns against illegal immigrationHuman Smuggling,” in D. Kyle and R. reinforced Fujian immigrants’ negative image Espenshade, T. J. and D. Acevedo. 1995. both in Japan and among other Chinese, and “Migrant cohort size, enforcement effort, and aggravated their social isolation. Finally, the the apprehension of undocumented aliens,” migration networks were still active and more Population Research and Policy Review, 14: and more people were coming in from Fujian. 145-172. As in many Mexican villages, international migration has become a lifestyle. In particular, Cranford, Cynthia. 2005. “Networks of making money abroad has become a quick way Exploitation: Immigrant Labor and the to capital accumulation, especially when one Restructuring of the Los Angeles Janitorial faced debts from failed businesses. Although Industry.” Social Problems 52(3): 379-397. as an immigration destination, Japan might be less desirable than the US, coming to Japan Immigration Bureau, Ministry of Justice. 2007. remains significantly cheaper and theImmigration Control. Tokyo. immigrant networks here are established. Japan Immigration Association. 2004. Statistics on the Foreigners Registered in

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Japan. Vasishth, Andrea. 1997. “A model minority: the Chinese community in Japan,” pp. 108-139, in Kwong, Peter. 1997. Forbidden Workers: Illegal Japan’s Minorities: The Illusion of Chinese Immigrants and American Labor. New Homogeneity, ed. Michael Weiner. London: York: New Press. Routledge.

Liang, Zai and Wenzhen Ye. 2001. “From Notes Fujian to New York: understanding the new Chinese immigration,” in D. Kyle and R. 1 A shorter version of this paper titled “Ethics Koslowski (eds), Global Human Smuggling: of Undocumented Migration” was published by Comparative Perspectives, Hohns Hopkins Policy Innovations, and is based on a University Press, Baltimore: 187-215. presentation of the same title at the Right to Move Conference held at Sophia University in Liang, Zai and Hideki Morooka. 2004. “Recent January 2010. Trends of Emigration from China: 1982-2000.” International Migration 43(3): 145-164. 2 This saying is cited by many articles on clandestine migration phenomenon in Fujian -----, Miao David Chunyu, Guotu Zhuang and Province. Its Chinese version is: “台湾怕平潭， Wenzhen Ye. 2008. “Cumulative Causation, 美国怕亭江，日本怕福清，英国怕长乐，全世界 Market Transition,and Emigration from China,” 怕福建.” An example is the article “Luxurious American Journal of Sociology, Volume 114 Residences with No Men; Women’s Villages in Number 3 (November 2008): 706–37 Fujian ( 遍地豪宅不见男丁的福建"女人村" ) , http://www.huaxia.com/zk/sq/00095826.html, Liu-Farrer, Gracia. 2008. “The Burden of Social accessed on March 24, 2010. Capital: Fujian Chinese Immigrants’ Experiences of Network Closure in Japan.” 3 Ministry of Justice Press Release, February Social Science Japan Journal. Vol. 11 No. 22. 17, 2009, accessed on November 12, 2009. 241-257 4 URL, accessed on June 15, 2010. Massey, Douglas and J Arango, G. Hugo, A. 5 Kouaouci, A. Pellegrino and J. Taylor. 1993. Ministry of Justice Press Release, February “Theories of international migration: a review 2009, URL, accessed on November 9, 2009. and appraisal,” Population and Development 6 Review 19(3). 431-466. In Japan, parents pay the hospital 300,000 to 600,000 yen for delivering a baby. Depending Ministry of Justice. Ministry of Justice Press on the type of insurance, they usually receive Release, February 17, 2009, accessed on about 300,000 yen from the government or an November 12, 2009. organization of which they are members. Because Japanese medical insurance cards do Pieke, Frank N., Pal Nyiri, Mette Thuno, and not have pictures attached to them, borrowing Antonella Ceccagno. 2004.Transnational insurance cards at a fee was a common Chinese: Fujianese Migrants in Europe. practice in the Fujian community. When Stanford, Calif.: Stanford University Press. delivering babies, they usually borrowed an insurance card and paid the hospital bill in Tajima, Junko. 2003. “Chinese Newcomers in cash. The insurance card holder could pocket the Global City Tokyo: Social Networks and the 300,000 yen from the government. Most Settlement Tendencies.” International Journal undocumented Fujian immigrants also paid of Japanese Sociology. 12: 68-78. somebody, usually the card holder, 500,000 or

11 8 | 26 | 1 APJ | JF more to take the baby back to China to their 50,000 yen) in rural areas and 10,000 (USD families. 1,250 or 140,000 yen) in cities and towns (National Bureauof Statistics of China 2004) 7 In a region where average annual per capita 100 to 200 thousand yuan was a heavy burden. income in 2003 was 3734 yuan (USD 466 or

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